Swedish Wedding Traditions give you a gist of Sweden. While some are more or less similar to the American traditions, others are totally different and fascinating. Swedish Wedding Customs are intriguing and incredible. They never disappoint you in the way that they get as interesting as you want them to be. Getting married the Swedish way is as exciting as it sounds. Whether you’re planning to have a Swedish wedding or simply attending one, brush up your knowledge about the country that has more or less perfect weddings.

Walking down the aisle together

Unlike the American custom of the father walking down the bride, signifying ‘giving her away’, the groom and the bride walk down the aisle together in a Swedish Wedding. A great fact about this egalitarian country is that people here don’t like the idea of a woman being owned by a man and giving her away to another man.

Kidnapping the couple-to-be off guard

Unlike the pre-planned bachelor part or bachelorette bash in America, the bride and the groom are usually caught off guard in Sweden. This involves kidnapping of the bride and the groom completely unaware, by their friends or relatives. The party is planned over a weekend or a day. Usually the other partner knows that this will happen and lies to make sure that they are in the right place at the right time.

Coins in the shoes

Another striking and happening custom of Swedish weddings is that the bride carries one silver coin in her left shoe from her father, and one gold coin in her right from her mother. This is called as the wealth blessing. This adorable custom is done to ensure that the bride never runs out of cash.

Rings & Tiaras

In a traditional Swedish wedding, the bride wears three bands, one for her engagement, second for marriage, and third for motherhood. The bride also wears a tiara to signify her virgin status, accompanied by the traditional Swedish costume. The bride’s bouquet is made of the strongly scented flowers to keep off any evils or bad luck.

Kiss the bride

Another fascinating and bizarre Swedish wedding custom is that once the bride and the groom take the wedding vows and do the traditional kiss, all the men are allowed to kiss the bride if the groom leaves the room for any reason. Similarly, all the women are allowed to kiss the groom if the bride leaves the room. At times even a male friend would kiss the groom.

Oodles of Speeches

Swedish wedding ceremony generally tends to drag due to the good amount of speeches. The first speech is usually given by raising a toast to the new couple. Also, a screening of videos from the bachelor and bachelorette bash is done. This is followed by long wedding dinner.

Sprinkling the rice over the couple

The couple in a Swedish wedding is usually showered with rice while they leave the church. This is done to ensure that the couple is well-off or to ward off any evil spirits. This fun tradition dates back to the Roman times.